Sluggish cognitive tempo in adults referred for an ADHD evaluation: a psychometric analysis of self- and collateral report
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms uniquely contribute to psychiatric and functional outcomes in child samples; however, the psychometric properties of SCT measures among adult outpatients are unknown. Method: Adults ( n = 124) presenting for an ADHD evaluation provided self- and collateral report of SCT symptoms. Results: The SCT scale had good internal consistency and yielded three factors across raters: Slow/Daydreamy, Sleepy/Sluggish, and Low Initiation/Persistence. SCT scores exhibited convergent validity with ADHD symptoms across raters. Individuals with ADHD received higher SCT ratings than those without ADHD via collateral report, a pattern that was similar when comorbidity was considered. SCT was associated with poorer functioning after accounting for ADHD symptoms with some differential effects based on reporting source. Conclusion: Findings support the internal consistency and validity of a three-factor SCT scale among adult outpatients. Differential results between self- and collateral report demonstrate the importance of multiple reporters of SCT in clinical settings.
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In college students and adults, SCT is uniquely related to global sleep problems, shorter sleep duration, and increased daytime sleepiness.
“In college students and adults, SCT is uniquely related to global sleep problems, shorter sleep duration, and increased daytime sleepiness.18,122–124”
From Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (2023) · cites this paper as [18]
The Results and Discussion identify a Sleepy/Sluggish SCT factor and examine its relationship with ADHD, but do not report associations with global sleep problems, sleep duration, or measured daytime sleepiness. Searches for those sleep outcomes found no supporting passage in our copy; page numbers were not provided. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIncreasing SCT severity is associated with multiple aspects of impairment (work, social relations, and community activities) as reported by self or collateral ratings, even after controlling for ADHD ratings.
“Lunsford-Avery et al. found that increasing SCT severity was associated with multiple aspects of impairment (e.g., work, social relations, and community activities) as reported by self or collateral ratings, even after controlling for ADHD ratings (7).”
From Characteristics of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo among adults with ADHD: objective neurocognitive measures align with self-report of executive function (2023) · cites this paper as [7]
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References 23 · Cited by 21
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- First MB, & National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.). (1997). User’s guide for the Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis I disorders SCID-I: clinician version. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
- Authors
- Lunsford-Avery, J. R., Kollins, S. H., & Mitchell, J. T.
- Affiliations
- Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Attention Disorders
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-07-19
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 322-331
- ISSN
- 1087-0547 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1246
- PMC
- PMC6458092
- OpenAlex
- W2884238524
- Semantic Scholar
- ad11e2c2f3db04f3cfcbe051a15520b8e20c035c
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 1.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Attention Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (K23 DA 032577, K24 DA 023464)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23 MH 108704)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- sluggish cognitive tempo, adult ADHD, self-report, collateral reports, psychometric properties, convergent validity, internal consistency, ADHD comorbidity, functional outcome, sleepiness
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attention, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Humans, Psychometrics
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